Singapore's Health Promotion Board (HPB) is gearing up for a major campaign to normalize the habit of consumers asking for less salt and fewer sauces in their meals. This initiative aims to make healthier choices the instinctive one, mirroring the successful 'siu dai by default' movement launched in September 2023, which targeted sugar-sweetened beverages. The goal is to reduce sodium intake, a primary trigger for hypertension, a leading risk factor for heart attacks, strokes, and kidney failure. Data from 2025 reveals that over one-third of Singapore residents suffer from hypertension, and the 2022 National Nutrition Survey found that nine in 10 people consume far more sodium than the recommended limit of 2,000mg daily. The HPB aims to reduce sodium consumption by 15% by 2026. To achieve this, the HPB is working with retailers to make low-sodium alternatives more affordable and introducing Nutri-Grade labels on pre-packed salt, sauces, seasoning, instant noodles, and cooking oil starting in mid-2027. However, the HPB acknowledges that reducing sodium is more complex than reducing sugar. Product reformulation is a delicate balancing act, as sodium is often structural and essential to the flavor profiles of many products. For instance, manufacturers of light soya sauce warned the HPB that cutting salt too drastically could compromise the fermentation process, potentially ruining the quality of the sauce. The HPB has already adjusted thresholds for soya sauce to ensure a meaningful reduction in sodium without sacrificing quality. The urgency of the initiative is backed by sobering data, and the HPB is also monitoring global trends regarding ultra-processed foods (UPFs), which are linked to obesity and cancer. While a 2025 series of papers in The Lancet linked UPFs to obesity and cancer, Tay remains cautious, noting that the current NOVA classification system is often too blunt.
